Thanksgiving happens in the Fall and coincides with traditional dates of harvest. In fact, many Europeans at the time of the Pilgrims set aside days of thanks to God for successful harvests. The Pilgrims at Plymouth explicitly wanted to thank God for their bounty after having almost starved the prior Winter.
Virtues
Resting Well
Our bodies tell us of our inherent value, regardless of our productivity. While sitting around doing nothing can make us feel useless, we have to realize that our worth comes from the fact that God made us in His own image and likeness, not from the work we produce.
St. Martin’s Day
Today marks the feast of a somewhat obscure saint in the minds of American Catholics: St. Martin of Tours. This particular feast used to hold particular importance in Medieval Europe, as it marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Winter. The occasion, often called “Martinmas” or “Old Halloween,” saw feasting, the giving of small gifts to children, and even marked the beginning of St. Martin’s Lent.
Your Parents Matter
Our parents give us so much. From our very first heartbeat, they sacrifice no small amount of sweat, blood, and treasure to bring us to full adulthood. They love us unconditionally, and work to give us a good life. We, in turn, trust our parents implicitly, and try to give them the respect and obedience due to them. No other relationships in our lives can compare to the importance of that with our parents.
Why JPII Gave Us TOB
On this the Feast Day of our beloved Pope St. John Paul II, we at TOBET continue to trust in his
intercession for the Church and for the first organization (TOBET!) established to promulgate the Theology of the Body (TOB), especially geared toward families, children, and youth.
Hope in Action
Some things simply require a bodily experience to properly understand why we should have a healthy fear of it. God gave us a huge world to explore, and a sense of fear to keep us safe from danger. But even so, that fear should not keep us from legitimately pursuing our goals – the greatest of which is to love God above all else. But when we overcome our fears in pursuit of God, we come to a greater love of Him through the virtue of courage.
The Body Teaches Friendship
Jesus, the ruler of all things, wants to have a relationship with youI often hear Catholics say, “God made us for relationship.” That sounds great, but what does it mean? What does a relationship look like? And beyond that, what does a good relationship look like?...
Making the Body Move
This post discusses the basis of good music, and how are bodies can let us know it’s good by the way it makes it feel and the way it can change our moods.
Our Comforting Presence
While death is a subject we don’t like to think about, we often make an effort to attend funerals with our bodies, as our physical presence comforts those mourning the dead.
Miracles of the Body
Pope John Paul II’s intercession after his death saved the lives and health of two women who prayed to him for help, thus securing his canonization in 2014.